While a significant portion of BioWare is laser focused on the development of Dragon Age 4, plenty of the studio’s members are equally as committed to the continued work on Anthem 2.0, also known as Anthem Next. Though studio director Christian Dailey has previously said that the entire development process would take quite the long time, Dailey recently shared a new update detailing some of the upcoming loot and weapon changes to the game.

Anthem studio director Christian Dailey recently took to the BioWare blog site to reveal some of what fans can expect once the Anthem Next project has come to fruition. According to Dailey, the team is working on making it so that loot drops – and their potential – create loads of excitement for the player, and BioWare is working to ensure that Anthem respects a player’s time spent on getting said drops. As such, the team is implementing new quests and specialized vendors to help reduce some of the randomness of loot collecting.

Some of the team’s work also involves a commitment to improved gunplay, with Dailey specifically noting that gun-based combat will feel “more responsive with enemies reacting to hits near instantly with improved client-side prediction.” Shown above, the Anthem Next team is also working on a ton of new weaponry concepts, which Dailey is particularly excited for.

Here are the bullet points from the post:

• Respect Your Time
  • Increase the frequency of Loot Drops
  • Loot is viable more often; All items are better and more competitive, but there’s still a chance of getting something exceptional
  • All loot rarities have strategic value throughout progression

• Embrace Choice
  • You can pursue specific loot without relying on randomness alone; Quests; Specialized Vendors; Unique Loot Tables
  • Modify your loot, including rerolling inscriptions and leveling up items

• Create a Rewarding Loot Experience
  • Loot feels exciting and more noticeable when it drops, and is celebrated when collected
  • Rare enemies (aka “walking treasure chests”) create exciting moments to get a burst of loot all at once
• Keep it Accessible and Immediate
  • Reveal and equip loot right away
  • Complete revamp of the equipment sheet – including a detailed stat sheet (not shown)
  • The equipment sheet can be accessed from anywhere, allows you to easily see what you have equipped in each slot

• Reliability of Equipment and Rewards
  • Each item has an inscription “budget”, based on its Power and Rarity
  • No more useless items because they were missing must-have inscriptions (see “Increased weapon dmg by +225%”)
  • Exceptional items are about getting the exact types of bonuses you want, instead of maxing values on every bonus
• Scale for the Future
  • Your power cap can be easily increased, and the loot system scales accordingly
  • Advanced telemetry data allows us to identify trends and make meaningful balance changes

Christian Dailey ends the post by stating once again that the entirety of Anthem Next won’t be an “easy fix,” though it should be a rewarding one.

Anthem Next is currently in development.

So, thoughts on some of the changes detailed by BioWare? Let us know in the comments section below, and as always, stay tuned to Don’t Feed the Gamers for all the latest gaming and entertainment news! Don’t forget to follow DFTG on Twitter for our 24/7 news feed!